Thursday, August 30, 2018

Summer Break at Nismo Performance Center Tokyo

With Omori Factory closed during obon I took the opportunity to pay a long overdue visit to Nismo Performance Center Tokyo.

First of all, Yamazaki-san has been kind enough to keep some large boxes in storage for me, since I wouldn’t have where to fit them at home (Tokyo living issues). Additionally, buying Nissan genuine OEM parts is way more effective at NPTC than Omori, for reasons that I’ll get to in a second. Meanwhile I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful tip of the Mine’s titanium exhaust on a customer BNR34 parked just outside the shop.

Visiting NPTC never disappoints: it may not have the same state of the art design that you’ll find at Omori Factory, but exudes a real “artisanal workshop” vibe that is hard to beat. This is where real mechanics get their hands dirty.

Sugimoto-san was busy working on replacing pads on very clean V-spec II Nür fitted with a red-colored Brembo F50 calipers set-up. Interestingly, the very first car I inspected back when I was sourcing my own was in the same hue.

And I loved the super boxy look of the RS Turbo Skyline parked next to it: could it get any more 80’s than this?

The Nismo Fairlady Z is another model that I’ve been seriously considering as a good contender for a second car.

With this specific model being a Type 380RS: one of 300 produced, this version features extra Yamaha damping and chassis stiffening treatment courtesy of Autech and was fitted with a 3.8L version of the VQ engine.

The RS variation was only sold on Japanese market and, by looking at the massive Endless rotors that its owner fitted, looks like this one is regularly enjoyed on track as well.

This time I had to order just a few final bits, mostly for the interior, but also a couple for the chassis. Both Omori Factory and NPTC order parts through the same FAST system, but NPTC is also connected to the rest of the Nissan Prince network. This means that if a part is not in stock in the inventory, they can still check locally if it’s available at other dealerships.

Years ago I actually used to live around this area: Setagaya is a great place, very residential. For those not familiar with Tokyo it would be hard to tell that is located so close to the metropolis center.

Believe it or not, but this is literally 5 minutes away from Shibuya.

This summer is incredibly hot and humid and I’m actually happy that my car gets to spend it inside Omori Factory air cooled facility.

After leaving NPTC I joined a friend in Shimokitazawa to check out the local matsuri over a couple of beers. This is a great little town, definitely worth visiting for its local restaurants and hidden bars.

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About Me

From hundreds of hours spent mastering the perfect lap on Gran Turismo to owning and driving a R34 GT-R V-spec II Nür in Tokyo.
This blog is to share my personal experience living and breathing Japan car culture.